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The birth of St. Francis
The life-size terracotta statues, almost completed in 1610, by Cristoforo Prestinari, are located inside a space that looks like a stable. The brightly colored frescoes, whose payments between 1608 and 1615 are still preserved, are the work of the brothers from Orta, Giacomo Filippo and Bernardo Monti. The latter also painted the statues. In 1682, two other figures were added, the wet nurse and the woman next to Francis's mother, shaped by Carlo Pagano da Valsolda.The frescoes depict an Angel dressed as a pilgrim, who begs for alms, in the house of Francis and suggests the lady of the house to give birth in a stable; the baptism of Francis, and then the twenty-two years old Francis, volunteer in the battle against Perugia, taken prisoner, who comforts and cheers his comrades.
